Great design transcends borders and, in the case of “Destination: Istanbul,’’ it literally crosses them. In the project, a joint effort by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, cleverly rendered items by Turkish designers will be for sale at the MoMA Design Store starting this month and at the IKSV Design Store (Sadi Konuralp Caddesi No: 5; 90-212-334-0830; www.iksvtasarim.com/giris.asp) in the Sisli neighborhood of Istanbul.
The MoMA-curated selection of more than 100 items by 41 Turkish designers runs the gamut from serving utensils carved from Aegean olive wood by Koray Ozgen ($35; all prices are for items at the MoMA store, as the Istanbul display is not yet complete), to a beechwood “twig stool” by Demir Obuz ($450). With a generous sprinkling of Ottoman and Byzantine motifs, the collection includes porcelain espresso cups by Kunter Sekercioglu ($98), whose wavy saucer channels the movement of the whirling dervishes, and a modern take by Koray Ozgen in steel and nylon on traditional long-handled tea trays ($85).
Aylin Kutnay, the director of the IKSV Design shop, said her store has been selling MoMA-branded items for two years and that this about-face is “a great opportunity for introducing Turkish design to the world.’’
Leyla Taranto, who crafts jewelry, like adorable flower-vase brooches ($45) in coated metal and different shades of green, said she hopes the project “will stimulate curiosity about other aspects of Turkish design and hence other Turkish designers. On a personal level I am of course thrilled that my work is displayed in New York.’’
via Turkish Designs for Sale in Istanbul and New York – NYTimes.com.